Gold
by Elizabeth Hue
Summary: Previously known as 'His Golden Eyes'. I hadn't thought it was telling me something, but in this moment, I knew that I needed him, and that he was the one I was destined to be with. Original pairings / All Human / AU.


Author's Note: Inspiration -- My love of slumber party/Never Have I Ever FanFics.  
This is my first one-shot. It came to me on a whim and I began writing the first half and was stuck on what to do for the second half (there, I admitted it!). When I wrote it, the transition of the two halves was choppy, but I edited a bit, so I hope it's not still too bad. I still don't feel like the two halves own up to each other, but I hope you think otherwise once you read it. Enjoy and don't forget to review!

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I stared into his eyes and saw everything, yet nothing at all. His eyes showed a future, almost. A story behind the beautiful golden irises. But it didn't seem real; like a daydream.

My eyes started to hurt from straining to see through the rain. I blinked. No one was standing near me. I was alone on a strangely familiar walkway. My hands were starting to freeze up from standing for so long in the cold and my clothes were getting soaked from the rain dumping down on me.

Whatever I had seen might not have been real, but I saw it – him – again in my dreams that night.

--

I woke up the next morning to the sound of my alarm clock blaring in my ear from it's perch on the bedside table. "Emmett!" I screamed when I looked at the time on the clock. "You get your sorry butt in here _now_!" My ears buzzed from the sound of my own voice.

"Yes, Bella, dearest sister." He grinned at me innocently.

I stared at him from where I was laying on my bed. "Six o'clock!? You set my alarm clock for six o'clock in the morning?"

He walked over to my bed and put his face in front of mine. "Yes." I flinched away from his morning breath. "Do you have a problem with that?"

I raised my eyebrows in anger and frustration. "I _do_ have a problem with that. And would you _please _go brush your teeth before you stick your massive head in my face again?"

"My head is only massive because it's filled with brains and smartness."

"Ha! If you were smart you wouldn't have set my alarm clock for six o'clock because you had to get up, too."

He turned around and marched out of my room. "I had to wake up to the horrible sound of your voice screaming my name," he yelled back.

Emmett's my older brother; only by a year, though - I'm eighteen and he's nineteen. His girlfriend, Rosalie, is my age, though. When Emmett started dating her, we started hanging out a lot.

I tried to go back to sleep, but couldn't, so I decided I would just go downstairs and watch television until I was hungry for breakfast.

"Nice pajamas," Emmett said when I walked down the stairs. He was sitting on the couch still in his own pajamas watching television with a huge bowl of cereal balancing in his lap.

I almost turned around and went back upstairs, but decided I would probably get more of his acts of 'comedy'. "Don't spill that bowl or else you'll be cleaning it up," I warned.

"I'm not as clumsy as _you_. I, at least, have a few ounces of grace in my body." I scowled at him, but, as much as I hated to admit it, he was 100% right. I was a bull in a china shop.

My stomach growled, so I helped myself to a bowl of cereal and sat next to Emmett. As much as he taunted and teased me, I still loved him. We were partners in crime – always have been.

Emmett and I have lived together in a small apartment in New York for about a year. We were happy, though. And although it's hard living with an older brother, you grow into it and eventually begin to love it.

"Do you have any plans for today?"

"I think Rose is dragging me to the mall to buy her clothes or shoes or something girlie I won't like. She better be darn happy I have an extremely well paying job for my age, or else she wouldn't have half the clothes she has now."

"_I _think _you _better be happy for that high-paying job or else she might have dumped you after pleading her way into having you spend every dollar you have on clothes and shoes," I joked.

He punched my arm playfully and I laughed. "Just kidding. She would never do that."

"Do what: dump me or spend all my money?"

I laughed. "Both."

"I guess so."

"You have no idea."

He sighed. "I suppose I should get ready. She'll probably be coming over soon."

"Probably. She usually comes at around eight, doesn't she? Because she knows you get up early anyway."

"Ugh. Yes. I love her and all, but couldn't she come at like...nine, at least?"

"Invite her to sleep over some night so that way you can take your time and distract her so you won't have to leave as early. We could have a slumber party! Doesn't she have another sister, too, and a few brothers?"

"A slumber party?"

"Doesn't she?"

"She doesn't have another sister, but she does have two brothers – Jasper and Edward. But, really, Bella. A slumber party?"

"Yeah! I haven't had one in forever and this would be fun for both of us!" Emmett rolled his eyes and walked upstairs. "Bowl!" I reminded him. The bowl he had his cereal in still sat on the coffee table and I wasn't planning on doing his dishes that day.

While Emmett was taking a shower, I called Rosalie and asked about having the slumber party that night. She thought it was a great idea. "I'll be over to pick Em up around eight." I grinned. "And when we get back we can watch movies or something!"

"Oh, and are your brothers free tonight? Emmett might be a little bored if we were talking about girl stuff and he has no one to talk to."

"Absolutely! I'll have them come over around noon; I expect we'll be back by then."

I said goodbye and ended the call. Emmett came out of the shower just as I hung up. He dressed and made sure he had everything he needed. Rose came at eight, right on schedule.

I called my best friend of ten years now. "Hey, Al. I'm having a slumber party tonight!" I held the phone about a foot away from my face to prepare for her deafening squeals.

"Oh, Bella! We haven't had one since, like, fifth grade! Do you need help setting up?"

"Umm, well I kind of just decided to have one an hour ago, so yes. I don't have _anything_. Do you mind picking up some food on your way here?"

"Nope! I'll be there in an hour. Bye!"

I knew I could always count on Alice. She knew how to start a party, plus she's the heaviest eater I've ever seen, so the job of buying loads of junk food is perfect. I have no idea how she manages to stay skinny with all the junk food she eats. It's disgusting. It must be all those shopping trips...

I began to clean the lower floor of the two-floor apartment. It wasn't actually messy, there was just some dusting and vacuuming to catch up on.

A giddy Alice arrived promptly at ten-thirty with multiple bags stuffed with unhealthy delectables. I set them out on the counter and inspected what she bought: Smartfood, ice cream, cookies, brownie and chocolate cake mix, candy, and every flavor chips imaginable.

"We'll order a few pizzas for dinner. Oh this is gonna be great, Bella! How many people are coming?"

I counted off on my fingers: "Emmett and I, of course Emmett's girlfriend Rosalie, and her brothers Jasper and Edward, plus you. So six, I think."

"Boys? Did you invite them?" she asked.

"Yeah. I figured Em wouldn't have any fun unless they came."

"Mmm. Probably not."

"They'll be here at noon, by the way. I was thinking we could make sandwiches or something for lunch and have pizza for dinner."

"Sounds good. You go watch TV, find something to do. As a matter of fact, I'm kicking you out of this floor; go up stairs and do something. I'll make sure everything is perfect."

"Why can't I stay down here?"

"_I_ want to set up. Come down only when I call you down."

"But-"

"_Go_." I stomped upstairs to my tiny bedroom and sat on my bed listening to music and reading anxiously for about an hour and a half when Rosalie and Emmett came back.

"Alice, I'm coming downstairs whether you like it or not; Em and his girlfriend are he-" I was silenced when I set eyes on the first floor of my apartment. "This, Alice, is _amazing_! I knew it was a good idea to invite you over, although I'm still not sure why you wouldn't let me help at all."

When I walked downstairs, I saw colorful ribbons hanging on the walls and ceilings and balloons scattered all over the floor. She had made about ten sandwiches – in case the boys ate more than one, I assumed – and placed them all on a large platter. The cake and brownies were made and cooling on the counter. All the bags of chips and stuff she had bought were in small bowls, but the larger bowls were underneath the smaller ones, I could see, because we wouldn't want to eat everything now, when it's only noontime. We couldn't blast the music or be very loud – and believe me, from prior experiences, Alice knows that – but there was a stereo set up on the edge of the counter, out of the way until we were ready to use it.

"I brought a few CD's, DVD's, and my X-box games with the machine, too."

I ran up to Alice and gave her a hug. "This is amazing, thank you _so_ much. I couldn't have done it without you!"

Alice smirked. "Oh, I no."

Just then, Rosalie and Emmett walked in. Emmett froze at the door.

"My house..." Emmett moaned.

"Yes, Emmy-boo, this is your house. Good job." I tried to make my voice resemble a mother congratulating a young child.

What surprised me was that Emmett stared at Alice, not me, and began yelling at her. "What did you do to my house!? And I _know_ it was you, so don't bother lying to me."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Of course I did it, and I'm happy to admit I did it. And you know you can't put a finger on me!" she laughed. Emmett flexed his iron muscles at her.

"Anyway!" I said loudly so everyone would stop talking. "Rose, this is my friend Alice, Alice this is my friend, and also Emmett's lovely girlfriend, Rosalie."

"Nice to meet you!" Alice said cheerfully.

"You, too. So...this place; you decorated all of this?" Alice nodded proudly. "It's amazing!"

"Thanks!"

While we were waiting for the boys, who ended up coming late, we watched _The Notebook_. Alice, Rose, and I were all crying our eyes out by the end and Emmett had escaped to his bedroom, I assumed.

Rosalie's brothers, Jasper and Edward, pulled up the driveway at three o'clock. Three hours late. "Boys..." Rose muttered under her breath. "They can't be on time for a thing."

Alice ran over and opened the door for the boys to come in. When she turned back around to where I could see her face, it was beet-red. I guessed which one of the boys had caught her attention.

Jasper had blond hair like Rosalie's; you could definitely tell they were related. His eyes were a subtle dark blue and his skin seemed to be drained of all its color – the total opposite of Alice's.

Edward had tanned skin and bronze-colored hair. He didn't have the look of frailness that Rosalie and Jasper had. Edward's eyes were golden orbs that sparkled beautifully in the sunlight filtering in through the window.

My guess was Jasper, and from the looks of things, I was right. Alice couldn't take her eyes off him, although I don't think he's noticed her obvious attraction to him yet.

Everyone was just hanging around the island awkwardly, so I suggested we play video games and listen to music softly in the background until it was dark.

The sun began to set around five o'clock, and it was black as pitch by seven. "Now we can play a better...more interesting game," Alice started. I became nervous, for her idea of an interesting game was worlds away from my idea. "Never have I ever!"

Emmett came running down the stairs. "I wanna play!"

"We can play at the kitchen table so no one makes a mess in here," I told everyone.

"I'll go get everything we need." Alice ran over to retrieve a bottle of some type of alcoholic drink from the cabinet and glasses for everyone.

"What is that?" I asked cautiously.

"You don't need to know," Alice told me. "Okay, so everyone knows how to play, right?" I nodded, along with four other heads. "Good. I'm filling these up all the way...so you better play well! Emmett, you go first."

"Umm...never have I ever been woken up by an alarm clock someone other than myself had set to 6:00!" He stared at me the whole time while he was saying this. I took a sip and, surprisingly, I saw Rose take a sip, too.

I looked at her curiously. "A few years ago." She stared at Edward who shrugged.

"Never have I ever...bought myself a pair of shoes."

"What! That's impossible! You have a bazillion pairs!" Emmett whined.

"I do have a lot of pairs, but I've never actually bought myself a pair. I have two brothers. They don't just sit around the house and do nothing! Neither one has a girlfriend, so I take them shopping so they can spend their money on me!"

"_Moving on_," Alice pushed. "Jasper, your turn."

"Hmm...never have I ever gotten drunk."

Alice laughed and took a huge sip. I took a sip, too, and blushed when I saw Edward looking at me. "Alice took me to a party and made me." Edward casually took a sip, probably hoping no one would notice.

"Never have I ever made anyone drink until they were drunk!" No one drank, but Alice didn't seem to care.

"Never have I ever kissed anyone," I said.

"We can change that," Alice suggested. Edward drank. "You're both so romantically challenged, aren't you? I bet you'll have kissed before the night is over," she promised.

"Yeah, okay Alice. Go ahead, Edward."

"Never have I ever kissed a girl even when I got drunk." He stared flatly at Alice. Emmett drank. "I don't plan on changing that!"

"A boy!?" She asked and Edward sighed, then shook his head 'no'.

The game went on for hours. Everyone must have gone through at lease two glasses of alcohol before Alice decided to stop the game. I was definitely drunk, along with Rose and even Emmett a little.

"Let's go to bed, guys. I'm tired." She yawned.

"Yeah," Edward agreed.

Alice had already set up the sleeping bags on the floor, so after changing into pajamas, everyone climbed in. Rose and Emmett insisted on sleeping upstairs in his room. Alice complained, but let them go in the end.

"You know what, Bella. I'm going to sleep upstairs. Want to come Jasper? They have an extra bedroom, and I'm positive Rose and Emmett won't be using both beds."

Alice pulled Jasper upstairs before he had a chance to answer.

I climbed in between the blankets on the floor and told Edward he could have the couch. "No," he answered. "You take it."

I couldn't find it in myself to move from where I was, and I was pretty sure I would be dizzy when I got up from all the alcohol I had consumed.

It was almost like all the alcohol was numb in my body for a minute, because I remembered what Alice had said earlier. '_You're both so romantically challenged, aren't you? I bet you'll have kissed before the night is over'_.

The drunkenness came back to me in a flash and I suddenly felt nauseous. My body was burning up, so I moved closer to the coolest this I could reach. I crept further up and rested my head on the coolest, hardest pillow I had ever used. A set of arms wrapped around me and I heard a low voice whisper near my ear, "so that kiss...".

I was a little unsure about kissing someone I didn't exactly know, but as soon as Edward's lips touched mine I melted and forgot everything. The kiss didn't last long, but it felt like forever.

As soon as his lips moved away from mine, I immediately missed his warm skin so close to me. "Sorry," he whispered.

"I'm not."

"You should be. When you wake up in the morning, you'll regret it; once all the alcohol has worn away."

"You're wrong," I told him.

"Go to sleep, and in the morning we'll see just who is wrong."

I surrendered with a sleepy grunt before a wall of sleep took me over.

That night, I dreamed about the boy laying next to me. For the first time, I made the connection that he had the same eyes as the boy I saw in the rain; those same breathtakingly beautiful golden orbs.

My eyes opened slowly as sleep brought me back to consciousness. I felt horribly sick; when I lifted my head it felt like a big rock hit me, causing my head to start ringing painfully. My limbs were stiff and sore from sleeping on the floor.

I looked around to see where I was and saw the furnishings in my living room surrounding me. The night before flashed back to me. _Edward kissed me_, was the only thing I could think.

"Have any regrets?" a voice asked from beside me.

I whipped my head around too fast and it throbbed even more painfully. "Wha-!" _Edward kissed me_. I thought for a minute: if I said I didn't have any regrets, he would think I liked it, which I did, but that would make me sound too desperate. If I went with yes, he would mock me on how he was right last night when he said I would regret it. "No," I answered with the truth, stubbornly.

"You still have a hangover." I scowled at him. "Fine, then prove to me that you don't regret it."

"Why should I prove to that I don't regret it!" He just raised his eyebrows at me. I decided to wave it off.

I stood from the sleeping bag I was using and walked upstairs. I could hear Edward calling from his spot on the floor asking me where I was going, but I ignored him.

The door to my bedroom - the bedroom I assumed Alice had slept in - was open a crack, so I gently pushed it open. The scene before me almost made me fall over.

Jasper was lying, still asleep, on his back atop my bed and Alice's head was resting on his chest; she was also sound asleep. I contemplated whether or not I should wake Alice up or not. She would probably be cranky with me for the rest of the day if I did and Jasper would most likely be embarrassed, so I left them alone.

I crept quietly back down the stairs and sat on couch where Edward had moved to watch TV. "Jasper isn't using the spare bedroom, he's in my room with Alice," I told Edward.

"Are you kidding!? Jasper got a girl before I did!"

"You're ridiculous."

"_What_!"

"We don't know _what's_ happening between them now, so let's just not say anything. Emmett and Rose would never let it go. I'll just talk to Alice, and you talk to Jasper."

"Fine. I'll leave it alone. What do you want to watch?" He changed the subject a lot faster than I expected.

"Doesn't matter; you choose." I stood up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. "I'm making breakfast," I announced. "Everyone will be hungry when they wake up."

Edward shut the TV off and followed me. "I'll help."

"No, you don't have to."

"I want to," he told me. "What are we having?"

"I was thinking maybe pancakes."

"Sounds good. What can I do?"

"Can you get the ingredients?" Edward looked at me for a minute expecting me to accentuate my sentence. "You don't know what's used to make pancakes?" I sighed. "Flour, eggs, milk, butter, baking powder, salt."

"Sorry for not being good in the kitchen." He said as if I'd just offended him. "I've never made anything for breakfast other than cereal and toast," he said defensively.

We made the pancakes and finished them just in time. The batter was finished just before everyone woke up so we cooked them, and served everyone. Once breakfast was over, everyone split up and did their own thing. I never got the chance to ask Alice about her and Jasper because they took off after thanking Edward and I for breakfast. Emmett told me he and Rosalie were going to her house.

I sighed. Left alone with Edward, of all people. "What do you want to do?" he asked.

"Eh. I'm going to hang around here; I still don't feel good from that hangover. You can do whatever, though. It'll be boring staying here with me."

"I'm still waiting for you to prove to me that you don't regret that kiss."

I sighed. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"I'm definitely not planning on it."

He was sitting on the couch, so I took a seat next to him. If he was going to keep bugging me with this, I supposed the best thing to do was prove it to him.

I hadn't noticed, but I was staring into his eyes and he was staring into mine. He was moving his face closer to mine and his addicting breath was luring me toward him. His lips trapped mine for a second before he pulled away and apologized again. I refused to let him feel sorry, so I crashed my lips back onto his. After a spending a few seconds – which were, by the way, the best few seconds of my life – pressing my lips to his, I moved back to my previous sitting position.

He was staring at me when I finally peeked at him. "I believe you, but you didn't have to do that to prove it."

I blushed and looked away feeling shy. "What if I wanted to."

He was silent for a minute. "Then I guess that's okay."

_____________________________________________________________________

Edward talked to Jasper later that day and found out Alice and Jasper were officially dating as of an hour and a half ago. I talked to Alice, too, and she told me all the gory details. She said nothing happened last night, although refused to tell me how they ended up sleeping in the same bed.

"What about you and Edward? Was I right last night?"

I blushed a deep red color.

"I was right!" Alice exclaimed and jumped around. "I _told_ you it would happen. Are you guys going out!?"

"Not officially."

"You want to then?"

"Yes. I want to."

--

Edward and I were never officially going out, but everyone could see what was happening; we were both falling like crazy for each other. I laughed when he took me to the mall and bought me a pair of shoes. It was almost a ceremony of release from Rosalie. He told her he had someone to spend money on now. I hated going to the mall with Alice, but Edward – as long as he didn't buy me anything – was enjoyable. I could walk around and talk to him for hours, days even, and not get bored. His life seemed so interesting when my life was so dry and boring.

"You haven't seen my house yet, have you? I've been practically living at your house since that slumber party," he chuckled.

"I would love to see your house!" I exclaimed.

"Are you up to meeting my parents, then?"

I bit my lip in thought. "Better to get it over with," I decided.

"You'll love them!" he assured me. "You don't have to worry."

When I walked out of the front door of my apartment, I was greeted by a shiny silver Volvo. He confirmed it as his, and drove me to his house. The house was a huge tan colonial. The paint looked as though it had just been done. A yellow Porsche was in the driveway next to a black Mercedes. Edward drove his car around to the side of the house and into a large garage. He parked between a red BMW and a red jeep.

"This is your house?" I questioned in shock.

"Yeah," he answered casually, as if his house was common in the small town in New York town we lived in. "My mom likes old houses and modern décor, but we're a big family."

I raised my eyebrows. "Not that big a family."

Edward ignored me and opened the garage door and led me into a large kitchen. The floor was tiled a tan color with dark granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. Very modern, but I don't see how I could have expected anything less. The cars in the garage were a big hint as to what the rest of the house would be like.

A woman who must have been his mother walked over from the living room. "Hello, Edward. Who do we have here?" she asked kindly.

"Mom, this is Bella. Bella, this is my mom Esme," he introduced us.

"Nice to meet you, Bella."

I nodded my head. "Nice to meet you, too, Esme."

"Come on Bella." Edward pulled me along through the kitchen and gave me a tour of the rest of his house. The rooms were all gorgeous and just as modern as the kitchen. The room that shocked me the most was his room.

He opened the only door on the third floor and I stood in the doorway marveling over how different it was from the rest of the house. The back wall was all glass, but the walls were painted a gold color. Surprisingly, the feel of the room was country-like. The comforter was sage green as were the music racks holding his many albums. I walked over and ran my fingers over the pictures on the nightstand. The young boy looked exactly like Edward looked now.

I turned around and looked at Edward; his eyes bored into mine. It was then that I realized that the golden orbs I was staring into were the same I saw days ago in my daydream and in all my dreams. I hadn't thought it was telling me something, but in this moment, I knew that I needed him, and that he was the one I was destined to be with.

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This one-shot is complete, but a friend wants me to add more to it, so I might consider that. Add me to your author alert list if you want to know when I have written something else. If I do add more, it probably won't be another chapter, but posted as the sequel instead.

Check back soon and review! Reviews make me very, very happy!


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